[vienna]

The core matter in the dispute over the document Nunes was seeking was not that DOJ and the FBI refused to turn over the document, since the did, in fact, turn over the specific document in question; the core dispute by Nunes is the name/identity of the informant was redacted, a normal procedure for persons involved in ongoing investigations. Protection of witnesses, informants, or other persons who are relevant to an investigation and may be in danger of harm is SOP for law enforcement/investigation...


A fact not known is Nunes never even read the redacted document he has so vocally criticized and decried, even after it was made public; that little bit of information came out when a reporter, who did have knowledge of the document's contents asked Nunes to comment on a specific aspect in te memorandum and Nunes could not do so, and then admitted he, in fact had never actually read the memo; Nunes claims he had a member of his staff read it and 'summarize' it for him; given the document is only a couple of pages, that must have been a very short summary...


I believe it is becoming evident the Trump team is trying to get a peek at what info the DOJ and Mueller may have on Trump and/or his associates. The Mueller investigation is new ground for Trump; he is not used to fighting 'in the dark'; in his business life, he has been able to use various tactics gaim information as means of leveraging his advantage, but now, against a blank wall, he has no advantage and it really is bugging Trump. Nunes has been his go to for intel, but Nunes has become less effective as time goes on and has become an increasing embarrassment. His other go-to sources are shrinking with the likes of his fixer Cohen now being swallowed up by the Trump web...


Trump's biggest problem is he's a "bluffer" poker player, who relies on bluster, braggadocio, and bullying to get the other guy to fold, and that has worked in his business dealings, particularly when used against weaker players; but, now, he is up against the consummate "poker face" player in Mueller who has kept a silent stone face throughout the his tenure as Special Counsel: no press conferences, no interviews, no press releases comment on progress, nothing at all for Trump to try and suss out what cards Mueller is holding, and, thus far, Mueller and his team have been very carefully dotting all the "i"s and crossing all the "t"s and not giving a crack in the wall for Trump to peek through; in other words, as a prosecutor, Mueller, and his team, are doing their jobs very well. Trump has relied on the naivete, incompetence, ignorance, or fear of his opponents to give him an advantage and, now, Trump has been disarmed and is flailing; given Trump's many self-failings and those of the people with whom he surrounds himself, Trump is seriously hurting...


I welcome the calls for the probe called for by Trump and Nunes, et al. I have a felling it may become a case of "careful of what you wish for": by trying to gain access to what DOJ/Mueller is holding, there is an equally strong possibility the Trump team may give the Mueller team intel it might not have had access to, sort of Trump looking into the abyss and having the abyss look back at him...
















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